The Stars
of Christmas

The idea of this particular message, which was presented as a series of
impromptu meditations on the verses below, was to somehow convey the immensity
of the idea of God coming to live with His creation as a child in order that
through Him mankind might be saved from its rebellion. At the time I had this
idea of the stars looking down in wonder at the sight of their Creator
inhabiting His creation and I remember being amazed that the world did not fly
apart at His presence.

Peter Rhebergen, November 28, 2003

Part One ~ Message - Creation

Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the
deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let
there be light: and there was light.

Psalm 19:1-3 -The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies
proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night
after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their
voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the
ends of the world.

John 1:1-4 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things
were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him
was life; and the life was the light of men.

Genesis 15:1-5 - After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a
vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." But
Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and
the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" And Abram said, "You
have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir." Then
the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son
coming from your own body will be your heir." He took him outside and said,
"Look up at the heavens and count the stars-- if indeed you can count them."
Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."

Isaiah 40:1-5 - Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak
tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been
completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD's
hand double for all her sins. A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the
way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every
valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground
shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be
revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has
spoken.

Luke 2:8-20 - And there were shepherds living out in the fields
nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared
to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great
joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has
been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will
find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company
of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to
God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." When the
angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another,
"Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has
told us about." So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who
was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning
what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at
what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and
pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God
for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been
told.